The Record: School meal scam

THERE is no room for deception and dishonesty when it comes to programs designed to benefit those in need. With that in mind, authorities should vigorously investigate dozens of public employees and school board members suspected of lying about their income to get free or reduced-price school lunches for their children.

Matthew Boxer, the state comptroller, said Wednesday that the agency looked at 15 districts statewide and discovered widespread fraud involving 109 people, including an elected school board member from Paterson and five other trustees from Pleasantville and Newark. Boxer surmised that additional fraud would be discovered if the more than 600 school districts in the state were examined as well. Of the 109 individuals cited, 83 are public employees. They were not identified.

The investigation involved the National School Lunch Program, which began shortly after World War II to ensure that children from low-income families were provided with adequate nutrition. The program serves 31 million children across the nation, including about 39,000 in Passaic County and an estimated 20,000 in Bergen County. Eligibility is based on family income and size. For example, under the 2011-12 school year guidelines, children from a family of four qualified for free lunches if annual household income was $29,055 or below. They got meals at reduced prices if household income was $41,348 or below.

The comptroller's investigation alleges simple fraud: people underreporting their income so their children would qualify for free or reduced meals. Public workers lying to get benefits to which they are not entitled should at the very least lose their jobs. School board members who did so should resign or, if not, be removed.

But the blame does not end with those who engaged directly in improper behavior. As the state report noted, the districts involved failed to adequately verify applications for entry into the school lunch program. That should have been easy.

In the case of public employees, their salaries are not secret. If a public employee underreports his or her salary, a simple check by the district would have detected the discrepancy. In some cases, the employees worked in the district from which they were seeking improper meals for their kids. How could a district fail to verify the salaries of their own employees?

The answer to that question presents another problem. Districts are under no pressure to verify eligibility for the school lunch program. In fact, because some aspects of state aid are based on how many students are enrolled in the program, it can be to a district's advantage to increase the number of students getting free lunches. Boxer's report said that some districts actively recruit enrollees into the program but fail to warn parents about the need to complete their application honestly. Such sloppiness can lead to the problems detailed Wednesday.

The state should fully prosecute any cases of fraud. That would punish the guilty and also warn districts to administer this program more carefully. Fraud of this type is most damaging to the thousands of New Jersey children who are rightfully enrolled in the school lunch program, because it sullies the entire initiative.

Going forward, it is imperative for all districts to ensure that only those who are eligible receive free lunches.